Part of getting along with the people in your building includes setting and respecting each other’s healthy boundaries. The key word here is ‘healthy’ because, trust us when we say this, not all boundaries make sense. Some of them are utterly absurd! And not all of your neighbors will be self-aware enough to admit they’re at fault.

Case in point, redditor u/sin_smith_3 recently went viral on r/pettyrevenge after sharing how they dealt with their troublesome neighbors who’d cause a scene every single time the OP made so much as the tiniest noise in their apartment. Read on for the full story (and take notes if you’ve got any pesky complainers in the area, too).

It’s one thing to have healthy boundaries when it comes to noise, it’s another to deal with neighbors who are overly sensitive

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

One internet user shared how they dealt with their belligerent neighbors who kept complaining about the tiniest sounds coming from the apartment

Image credits: Nick Romanov (not the actual photo)

Image credits: sin_smith_3

Some chaos is inevitable if you live in an apartment building

Living in an apartment complex means that you’re going to have to deal with some level of chaos sooner or later. Your upstairs neighbor might like to watch the evening news a tad too loudly. The lady from downstairs might keep three dogs that keep yapping every time they go outside. And the dude living across the hall from you might have guests over every weekend for massive geeky board game nights with costumes, twenty-sided dice, and epic voices.

The thing is—that’s all part of life. As long as you can live a high-quality life and you get enough sleep, you shouldn’t aim to micromanage every tiny little thing that the folks in your building do. There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ neighbor, but so long as everyone’s more or less respectful of each other’s boundaries, we’ll gladly settle for ‘good enough.’

One major issue that many of us have had to deal with is excessive noise. It might be music. It might be power tools. It might be the kids upstairs making a racket. Or it might be someone deciding that midnight is perfect to start vacuuming. Whatever the source, at some point, we’ve said ‘enough is enough’ and gone to ask our neighbors to keep it down. Anyone decent will apologize, promise not to do it again (and might even invite you over for a cup of tea).

Image credits: Sigmund (not the actual photo)

Try to reason with your neighbors and share your side of things as diplomatically as you can

Here’s the twist, though: some folks are going to be so entitled and sensitive, that they’ll complain about just about anything. Even doing chores at 11 in the morning. It’s times like these that you need some good ol’ face-to-face communication to set things straight.

Try to be as diplomatic as possible as you explain to them that it’s perfectly reasonable to make a small amount of noise that’s part of you simply going about your day. You can’t live as quietly as a mouse for fear that someone might complain. Now, of course, if you’re being loud at an ungodly hour, it’s another issue entirely. But from our experience, some neighbors are just looking for any excuse to vent and assert control over the other tenants.

And let’s not forget that some buildings ‘leak’ sound. either due to shoddy construction work or simply because the building’s getting old. If you need complete silence, living in an apartment complex might not be the way to go. You might need to upgrade to a place that has soundproof walls, floors, and ceilings, or else find a house with a sizeable yard (and a tall, tall fence). It’s not a sin to want some peace and quiet. But don’t fight for it at the expense of your neighbors’ nerves.

Image credits: Christian Stahl (not the actual photo)

Few Americans actually know who their neighbors are these days

The reality is that fewer and fewer people have strong relationships with others in their local area. According to research done by the Pew Research Center, most Americans, 57%, know only some of their neighbors while merely 26% know most of them. Meanwhile, older folks are more likely to know who their neighbors are, compared to members of the younger generations.

What’s more, a majority of Americans, a whopping 58%, say that they actually have never met their neighbors for get-togethers. The Pew Research Center notes that higher-income Americans are more likely to have these social functions.

As we’ve covered on Bored Panda before, Americans have become less interdependent over the past half a century. In short, people simply don’t have the connections with the other locals that they would have done in the past.

Part of that has to do with technological change. For instance, the invention of air conditioning and the rise of electronic entertainment and means of communication means that there’s less need to go outside. That, in turn, leads to fewer accidental interactions with people in the neighborhood. Say, someone who’s strolling by your porch. Even a simple ‘hi, how are you?’ is something that can lead to a full-blown conversation.

Something else that stops people from getting to know their neighbors is moving from place to place more often. Instead of growing up and living in the same small town you were born in, you might head a major city for better work prospects. And then you might switch a ton of apartments, looking for cheaper rent or a better quality of life. It’s hard to develop deep relationships with others when you’re always on the move.

The story started a discussion, and the author shared some more context in the comments

Here’s how some people reacted to the post. Meanwhile, others shared some similar tales of their own

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